Gram Tells The Tale
by missy52061
Summary: Martha tells the story of "Cops and Robbers" to Rick and Kate's son. Fluffy. For a #CastleFanficMonday - one more week to go! As always, I don't own Castle, I just wish I did!


Martha Rodgers had never really wanted to get old. But now she reflected on the best part of getting older – the joy of grandchildren. True, she was a youngish grandma when Alexis was born, but right now, she was the perfect age to enjoy her young grandchildren. Hannah was a sweet natured one year old and James was a four year old delight; it was hard for her to imagine them being anything else when she thought about their parents. Babysitting them was usually a fun time for her; Hannah loved music and James loved to sing and dance and he loved to put on a show for his parents when they got home.

But not tonight; James was getting over a cold and all he wanted to do was cuddle with his Gram. So cuddle him she did, while Hannah slept. She had fed him some chicken soup, and now he was sitting on her lap while she had covered him in his favorite blanket.

"Grams," said the scratch-y voiced boy, "Did you ever go on a 'venture with Mama and Daddy?"

"Oh yes my darling, I did. And Daddy and I would not be able to tell you the story except for the fact that your Mama is brave and smart and she saved us," Martha told James.

His eyes got wide with wonder. "Really, Grams, she saved you? What happened?"

"Well, it was when I was first starting my acting school. I needed to go to a bank to borrow money, and Daddy took me to the bank he always went to," Martha started the story. "Daddy got bored, and he called Mama on the phone. They weren't married yet," the red head continued. "While he was talking to Mama, some bad people came into the bank and wouldn't let us leave," Martha told him. She didn't want to scare the little guy too much so she wouldn't share how scary it had been.

"Where was Mama? And Uncle Kevin and Uncle Javi? Were they there too?" James said. He loved his uncles and he thought they were superheroes like his mama and daddy.

"Well, Mama and your uncles were at work when things first happened, but after Daddy told Mama what was happening, they all came to help us. Your uncles went to find out what really happened, and who the bad man was that made it happen. Mama stayed close by to talk to the bad guy who wouldn't let us leave the bank," Martha smiled at her grandson so he wouldn't worry about things. But for her, the fear of that afternoon never really left her.

"And while Mama talked to the bad man to get him to let us leave, Daddy was doing all sorts of smart things so Mama could help us. He sent her a message but he used a special code to send it. A special code and my favorite bracelet!" Martha laughed as she added the last.

Jamie's eyes got bigger when she told him that. "A special code? How did Mama know what the message was?" Wow, his Mama and Daddy were spies, too! Daddy told him what spies were once upon a time. He said Jamie's other grandpa was a spy, that's why they never saw him. He didn't understand it all, but he did know that Daddy got sad when he told Jamie that.

"Well, kiddo, Daddy used a code that a lot of people know about. It's called Morse code," she told him. "And your Daddy helped calm everyone, too. I know I felt better because I was with Daddy. He held my hand and told me we would be okay. And we were," Martha said quietly. She certainly wouldn't share how Richard made the bad guys focus on him. She still couldn't believe what her son did that day. "It didn't matter that Mama and Daddy weren't in the same place, they always could communicate. So Mama knew what the bad guys wanted, and Uncle Javi and Uncle Kevin took care of getting it. But one of the people inside the bank got sick, so Daddy told the bad guys he had to go to the hospital, and Mama pretended to be an ambulance person and she came to get him," the grandmother told her grandson.

"So Mama really was brave!" the four-year old said.

"Yes, very brave. But because she came in to help that man, she could see we were okay, and she told everyone. And a little while later, she was able to get into the bank with other cops and get us all out," Martha smiled a little when she remembered when Katherine and Richard stared into each other's eyes. And the big beautiful smile the detective gave her partner. She had reminded them others were there, just to tease them a little bit. Katherine had blushed and Richard had slumped back into the wall, but Martha knew they would get there.

"So do you hug Mama when she got you out?" Jamie wanted to know the end of the story.

"Oh yes, I did. And later, I cooked a big dinner and Mama came to share it with Daddy, Alexis and me. So it all ended happily because your Mom and Dad have always worked together to help people," Martha told her grandson. At that moment, they heard Hannah crying, so Martha kissed Jamie's forehead – he didn't feel feverish, thank goodness – and went to get her granddaughter. She reflected on that afternoon again. It had truly been an adventure, but watching Richard's absolute faith in Katherine and the way they managed to work together no matter what had convinced her they would figure it out. And they had; this little girl in her arms and the little boy on the couch were proof of that.

 **A/N: I wasn't sure if Martha is "Gram" or "Grams" and got different opinions on Twitter, so I went with both.**


End file.
